An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
